Tuscaloosa City Council to consider proposed council district changes

Tuscaloosa's existing council districts as of Dec. 2012. (City of Tuscaloosa) View full size

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- The Tuscaloosa City Council is expected to vote on whether to approve proposed changes to its council district maps in upcoming weeks.

City Attorney Tim Nunnally told the Council during its pre-meeting briefing Tuesday that elected officials and city staff came up with the new proposed districts based on information from the 2010 census.

The redistricting, required by federal and state law, was discussed by the council before the April 27, 2011, tornado hit the city, Nunnally said. Since the districts are required to be based on the census, it will not reflect demographic changes caused by the tornado.

Nunnally said an ordinance to adopt the districts will be brought before the council for formal approval within the next month because it has to be approved by the Department of Justice under the Voting Rights Act.

The council has one more council meeting left in 2012, as both Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Tuesdays.

"We'll need to act pretty quickly when we come back," Nunnally said.

Proposed council districts for Tuscaloosa. (City of Tuscaloosa) View full size

Some of the proposed changes include:

District 1 would no longer include the area north of the Black Warrior River near the airport west of Northport, which would be part of District 3.

District 1 would also change its eastern boundary, which would extend east along the river just past Hackberry Lane south of University Boulevard and Campus Drive. Currently, District 1 and District 4 meet at Queen City Avenue, but redistricting would move that boundary to Lurleen Wallace Boulevard between University Boulevard to 15th Street.

District 2 would add an area including The Downs and Glendale Gardens, with 29th Street and Prince Avenue marking the northern boundary for District 7. District 7 would add a small area south of Skyland Boulevard near 51st and 52nd Streets from the current District 2.

District 7 and District 6 are also set to make some switches, with District 6 gaining the area between McFarland Boulevard and Hargrove Road roughly between 31st Street East and I-20/59. District 7 would add the area between I-20/59 and Skyland Boulevard from McFarland Boulevard to 26th Avenue East. District 7 would also add an area spanning from Cypress Creek Avenue to 31st Avenue East and 36th Avenue East.

There would be few changes to District 5 outside of a small area between Jack Warner Parkway and the Black Warrior River just east of McFarland Boulevard that District 3 would pick up.